Review- Daredevil Season 2: Episode 1 “Bang”

Starting off with a Bang both literally and figuratively, Marvel and Netflix Daredevil begins its second season. The first season set a pretty high watermark, so Daredevils Sophomore year has some pretty high standards to live up to.

With Wilson Fisk behind bars, a power vacuum in Hell’s kitchen leaves the Irish Mob, Biker Gangs, and the Mexican Drug cartels vying for a piece of the criminal underworld. Daredevil does his best to keep the criminals in check, but it seems someone else is doing a better (and bloodier) job of it. Enter Jon Bernthal’sPunisher.

Whereas season one left the main antagonist in the shadows for the first several episodes, the Punisher is introduced immediately. He is such a force of destruction that it’s assumed his bloody killings are all the work of a team of assassins, or a small army. It builds the proper mystique around the character. He is what criminals have nightmares about. Already I like this Punisher better than any of the previous versions portrayed in film (and I was one of the few who enjoyed both the Tom Jane, and Ray Stevenson versions of the character.) I was never a big fan of the Punisher comics but I did appreciate him as a character. He makes such a great foil to other more traditional heroes, especially one as righteous and moral as Daredevil. Will this be the definitive adaptation of the character? I hope so but only time will tell.

As for the titular hero and his sidekicks from season one, everyone is back and in good form. Matt and Foggy’s relationship is strong once again but Foggy worries about his activities as Daredevil, and wants him to stop. I hope this plot point doesn’t last long. This was covered pretty thoroughly last season. I hope we arrive at a point where Foggy accepts Daredevil rather than harassing Matt to quit. Not that Foggy is wrong, but Matt is not going to quit. As for Karen, the romantic tension between her and Matt crops up to a small degree. I hope Matt reveals his secret identity to her soon. She would be just as effected as Foggy if Daredevil is unmasked. If there is going to be relationship, its only fair if he comes clean to her. This isn’t a Superman story were the hero’s identity is played off with a wink and a slight sense of humor. This is Daredevil. Its dark, grim, desperate, and everything has a consequence. Just tell her Matt. It will be easier on all of us.

The introduction of Grotto, a survivor of one of the Punisher’s attacks brings all the plot lines together. Grotto wants witness protection and needs Nelson and Murdock to represent him. Of course the Punisher is going to want to finish what he started, bringing Daredevil and him into a conflict. There’s something very interesting about the battle to come. Last season we saw hero vs villain. This time we will get hero vs. anti-hero. This was a good start to the second season and has a lot of promise.